GET (Géoscience Environnement Toulouse)

GET -
UMR 5563 |
CNRS / UPS / IRD/CNES

GET is a laboratory with strong skills in geoscience and top-grade national and international positioning. Research here revolves around nine themes and three cross-cutting approaches requiring functional organization. It is backed by an array of analytical and experimental resources (currently worth around 8 million euros in assets), which acts as both a showcase and a stepping stone for innovation. Along with the new platform for microcharacterization of the RTRA STAE foundation, this resource aims to be a major entry point, nationwide and beyond, in terms of cutting-edge tools such as electronic nanoprobes.

The main assets of GET to pursue high-quality research include international collaborations, specific campaigns, work in areas which few researchers may access and explore, masses of data coupled with activities bridging geoscience and environment, access to satellite data, and the building of skills required for the optimal scientific use of such data.

GET was born in 2011 from the merging of LMTG (Laboratoire des Mécanismes et des Transferts en Géologie) and units from DTP (Dynamique terrestre et planétaire), CESBIO (Centre d’Études spatiales de la Biosphère) and CNES (Centre national d’Études spatiales).

Research themes

Georesources and geomaterials

Metallogeny and exploration of resources in metals and gems; mining and metallurgy archeology; architecture and dynamics of mountain range fronts applied to oilfield operation; well fracturing; natural hydrogen; geomaterials (e.g. technological research on composite materials for transportation).

LIT (inner Earth and lithosphere)

Magmatism and the formation of mountain ranges are among the most dramatic manifestations of the Earth’s inner activity. This field of study raises questions as old as geology itself, such as what forces make mountains grow, evolve and decline; or how and why basaltic and granitic magmas are formed. Researchers involved in "Terre interne et lithosphère" hail from a variety of disciplines such as petrology, structural petrology, geochemistry, and geochronology.

Gravitational field, crustal deformation, positioning

This research theme in gravimetry and geodesy investigates the inner structure of the globe, its dynamic response to various constraints either internal (tectonics, volcanism, isostasy, etc.) or external (atmosphere, mareography, hydrology, etc.), and the dynamics of fluid envelopes (hydrosphere, cryosphere). The overall goal of "Champ de gravité / déformations crustales / positionnement" is to strengthen the synergy between geodesists and geophysicists.

LOA (lithosphere, oceans and atmosphere)

The Earth as a system is a dynamic whole in which all components interact closely. "Couplages lithosphère-océans-atmosphère" studies the coupling processes between lithosphere, oceans and atmosphere. What are the dynamics of continent relief and its interaction with the climate machine? What is the history of the surface of the Earth as an environment at the geologic time scale? How do the lithosphere and the oceans interplay in areas of hydrothermal activity?

SCCG (continental surfaces and global change)

"Surfaces continentales et changements globaux" investigates the control mechanisms of the transfers of water, chemical elements (especially carbon), and energy, at different scales in time and space (from a small experimental drainage basin to a large regional basin), through various climate and geodynamics contexts. The strategy focuses on joint campaigns in boreal and tropical areas.

ICMESS (interaction between metallic contaminants and ecosystems, interface with health and society)

"Interactions contaminants métalliques-écosystèmes, interfaces avec la santé et la société" studies the mechanisms that control the interactions between metallic contaminants, their chemical forms, and the various components of ecosystems, at different scales (local, regional, global), through a number of campaigns led under contrasted anthropogenic, climatic and geological constraints. Some of these campaigns seek the progressive development of an integrated approach to the mechanisms connecting the contamination of the natural environment and threats to human health.

Interactions between fluid minerals and living organisms in natural and CO2 geological storage contexts

The study of such interactions requires an complementary array of experimental, analytic (chemistry, spectroscopy, electronic microscopy) and numerical approaches. This team of researchers thus operates from developing experimental and analytic tools, through modelling, to the end field of applications. Main research topics are experimental (bio-) geochemistry and nanometric-scale characterization of reaction interfaces during the dissolution of silicates.

REVS (water resources and vulnerability)

The ideal framework of integrated water management in large basins is at odds with the sociological dynamics of territories. "Ressources en eau et vulnérabilités" revolves around a crucial question: what knowledge should scientists produce in order to support and prompt relevant decision-making in the management of water basins? Research here relies on the comparative analysis of management and governance models, the ongoing survey of natural settings and resources, and the analysis of social and environmental vulnerability.

Geochemistry of stable non-traditional isotopes

Molecular Dynamics Fe

"Géochimie des isotopes stables non-traditionnels" mainly studies mass-independent mercury isotope fractionation, iron isotope geochemistry in oceanic and continental water, and the effects of the formation of the Earth’s core on iron and silicium isotope signature at the global scale.

Cross-cutting approaches

The teams of the laboratory pursue three cross-cutting approaches:

experimentation;

Earth-environment space-based observation;

modelling.

Higher education

The global economic context calls for an increasing relevance of Earth and environment science within the next years and decades. GET is strongly involved in education programs in the Midi-Pyrénées region, as well as nationwide and beyond. It delivers 95% of the teaching in Earth and environment science in Toulouse, thus reaching a large number of dedicated students in fields addressing strong social demands (environment, natural resources, etc.).

International cooperation

GET has gained worldwide presence through partaking in a number of IRD-endorsed LMIs (Laboratoires mixtes internationaux) such as LMI CEFIRSE Bangalore and LMI OCE Brasilia; OREs (Observatoires de Recherche en Environnement) such as HYBAM (South America), BVET (India and Cameroon), and AMMA-CATCH (West Africa); and other international projects such as LEAGE (Russia) and GDRE CarWetSib (Siberia).

OREs (Observatoires de Recherche en Environnement)

ORE HYBAM (Geodynamical, hydrological and biogeochemical control of erosion/alteration and material transport in the Amazon basin) – South America

HYBAM allows for the acquisition of reliable, regular data, with time steps suited to the seasonal variations of water, sediment and geochemical fluxes, through about fifteen stations spread between the Andean piedmont of the Amazon basin and the Atlantic Ocean.

In-situ data are complemented by the wide use of space techniques such as the hydrological monitoring of stations through radar altimetry, or the identification of suspended matter in rivers through the processing of MERIS and MODIS images.

ORE BVET – India and Cameroon

BVET seeks to improve our knowledge of water and biogeochemical cycles, delve into the dynamics of alteration/erosion processes in tropical settings, and study the impact of human activities on the functioning of the environment. Several tropical ecosystems in India and Cameroon are thus studied according to an integrated approach combining two space scales: local (experimental basins covering a few square kilometers) and regional (basins of around 100-m2 area). Experimental basins provide precious data to understand, quantify and model the workings of ecosystems and their long- and medium-term dynamics. Data from larger basins provide an understanding of the variations in water biogeochemical signatures and material transfers along the different scales.

AMMA-CATCH – West Africa

AMMA-CATCH, the Observatory of Tropical Climate Variability and its Hydrological Impact in West Africa, investigates the variations of water and climate caused by the West African monsoon, in order to better understand the interplay of climate, vegetation and water cycle in this area.

Observation is multiscale both in time and space, and relies on the network specially developed for the needs of international project
AMMA (Analyse multidisciplinaire de la Mousson africaine), as well as operational networks of member countries and satellite observation in various spectral windows.